On Truths and Lies
by the general girl
Summary: Karin just knows that she will marry Uchiha Sasuke. Then one day in walks Haruno Sakura. — AU SasuSaku, one sided SasuKarin.
1. 1

**note:** I really need to get over the whole "SASUKE IS A SUPER DUPER BUSINESS TYPE GUY" thing in AU's...

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><p><strong>On Truths and Lies<strong>

**1**

Karin knows that she will marry Sasuke. It's a given, a fact in her universe as much as the sky is blue and the Earth is round. She will marry Sasuke and become Uchiha and they will have at least three children together, because she's seen the want in his eyes a few days every month of the year.

Karin knows, because she has been working with Sasuke for well over half a decade. Karin knows because Karin chose him. She'd been recruited by his engineering firm—one of the top in the country—straight out of college, and to say she was surprised would have been a complete lie. She was only twenty two, and had risen in the ranks until she was a member on the board of directors as well as an actively contributing engineer. Karin had been the first woman to do so, and she was proud, very proud because she'd been able to disprove her mother and her father and all those sneering professors.

Sasuke helped her achieve that. He's always listened to her with quiet, serious consideration, never mind her scum-alley roots, and she is the only woman that he talks to on a regular basis. The last Uchiha is also the youngest to ever take control of the company, spearheading experimental projects and risky ventures with a flawless record and a one hundred percent success rate. He takes risks—but they are only ever calculated, and Karin respects him for that. She sees herself in this man, in their shared story of overcoming a past to reach a greater goal. Karin chose Sasuke because she can't see it ending any other way; they are perfect for each other, really.

Unlike all the other men she's known, he's never been one to begrudge her growth or career out of some misogynistic pride or vanity. He wouldn't be self-sacrificing to a fault, but they'd make compromises—calculated risks—and it would be a rewarding relationship, tempered with quiet love and a certain understanding. It might be a passionless marriage, but Karin hates passion, detests it despite the fire of her hair and the red of her eyes. Passion ruins and destroys—just look at what it did for her parents. Passion is unnecessary, and based on Sasuke's cool eyes and cooler skin (she remembers every small brush of their fingers as they exchanged papers and messages), he is the same.

Karin knows that she will marry Sasuke, it is a sure fact impending. He just needs a little push.

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><p>It's a quiet Sunday morning, and the top floor of Uchiha Conglomerate is nearly empty of the usual retinue of workers and briefcases. Karin is in, as always, because she never takes a day off, not for holidays or sick days or weddings or funerals. She knows Sasuke doesn't either, and that only plays a very small role in her choosing to come in every Sunday morning instead of every Sunday afternoon, like most of her colleagues do. And if she gets to share a cup of coffee over Sasuke's tea (what he drinks depends on his mood, she thinks, although what coffee tea latte and sometimes, just once or twice a year, alcohol, corresponds to she doesn't know), then all the better.<p>

This morning begins as all Sunday mornings do, with the measured clack of her heels against polished marble floor and the calming waft of caffeine from the coffee tray balanced in her hand. The receptionist gives her a polite, deferential smile as she comes in, but other than the younger woman the entire floor—opening out to cubicles—is empty. Sasuke though, she knows, will be in his office, just a hallway and two doors down from hers.

Karin clicks her way past four cubicles before she hears the elevator _ding_ open behind her again.

"Hello," says a distinctly feminine voice, "I'm here to see Uchiha Sasuke."

The redhead freezes, one foot already poised for the next clack to follow the click. This woman, whoever she is, already irritates her. Maybe it's the presumption in her voiced desire to see Sasuke (besides, Karin thinks smugly, he never took visitors on Sundays anyways); there is no question or doubt in the single statement, only fact. Truth.

"I'm afraid you need an appointment," the receptionist returns, icy polite.

_Good_, Karin thinks, _now that _that's_ taken care of…_

She moves, _breathes_ again and begins to continue on her way to Sasuke.

"He's going to want to see me," comes the firm reply.

Karin doesn't want to turn around, because if she does, if she _does—_she turns around anyways, and isn't prepared for what she sees. She's expecting the run-of-the-mill fangirl, but _this_ (here she struggles to contain a snort of laughter) girl with the pink hair and dusty jacket and was that blood? army boots is _not it._ _She_ wanted to see _Uchiha Sasuke_?

"I'm sure he does," the receptionist—what's her name again?—says, and she and Karin lock eyes over the pinky's shoulder, "but Uchiha Sasuke-san will not be disturbed. You will have to contact him and make an approved appointment yourself."

"Tomorrow," she adds pointedly.

The stranger only pauses to slip a sleek cell phone out of a pocket—probably stolen, Karin thinks with disdain—when Karin finally decides that enough is enough. The blond receptionist looks overly relieved that the redhead has decided to intervene, but what can she do? Not everyone is as competent as she herself likes to be.

"Excuse me miss," she says sugary sweet, "I'm sorry you had to come all the way up here, but Sasuke-san really isn't seeing anyone today."

The woman finally turns at the sound of Karin's voice, and she's greeted with the biggest pair of green eyes she's ever seen. It's ridiculous really, eyes like that should only ever be seen on children, or dolls. She is slim and pale, and although she's probably a respectable five feet four her eyes coupled with the sharp, fragile features of her face gives her the illusion of diminutive size.

"Are you sure I'm not in the appointments? Haruno Sakura. Ha-ru-no."

The receptionist shakes her head while Karin strives to look sympathetic, "You're always free to try again later this week."

The girl bites her lip, giving her cell phone a look of disgust and mutters, "I _knew_ I shouldn't have trusted Naruto."

A few quick dials and then, "Uchiha Sasuke? Guess who's standing in the lobby of your office?"

Karin scoffs at first, who does this girl think she's kidding? That a fake phone call would get her access to one of the most reclusive men in the country?

And then an office door bangs open, and all of Karin's expectations are shot straight to hell.

Uchiha Sasuke stands at the threshold looking as Karin's never known him: his hair messier than usual, product of an agitated hand, the expression of surprise and disbelief written across his face more than she's ever seen.

The girl, Sakura, only smiles, like she is used to this—to Uchiha Sasuke _reacting_, like it was no big deal. It only makes Karin dislike her more.

"Sakura," he says, and it is not a question, only a statement of immutable fact.

"Hello, Sasuke-kun. Long time no see," she cheerily replies.

Sasuke walks towards them with great purposeful strides, and this is the Sasuke that Karin knows, covets. He stops directly in front of the girl, ignores Karin and the receptionist—what _is _her name—and looks down at the pink haired _bitch_ (Karin shushes herself in her head, ladies are never vulgar) with all the intensity that she thought he could never posses.

"I thought you were still away," a pointed look at her clothes, but not in disdain. Rather, there is the raise of an eyebrow and a shrugging of broad shoulders; a question unasked.

The girl smiles again, answers easily, "The whole thing was a hundred percent success. The disease is pretty much eradicated from the villages now, and vaccines have been supplied and stocked just in case. I figured I could send my team home early."

"Just in time to pick up that Peace Prize?" Sasuke asks dryly. Karin starts, wonders at who this girl is. Wishes that Sasuke cares as little as she does—as little as she thinks he should. There's only a light snort from the woman, and all of a sudden Karin feels uncomfortable watching this, like she shouldn't be here, which is ridiculous because it is this intruder that is trespassing anyways.

Then, "I know you have work and all, but do you want to catch up over a cup of your _favorite_ coffee?"

He doesn't have a favorite, Karin wants to snarl, and he's never going to leave work just to talk to _you_, she adds in spite.

Sasuke looks at the girl, _Sakura_, for a long, slow minute, and then nods, "I'll get my coat."

The pair heads towards his office and Karin is left standing in the immaculate lobby with the world quietly ripped out from under her feet.

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><p><strong>an: **Still not _quite_ happy with this...

This fic will basically be a quick two-shot, told from Karin's point of view. It is, however, strictly sasusaku, with onesided sasukarin. I wanted to make her into a more...understandable character? I'll probably experiment with that in canon soon, and depending on the ending and the editing that I'll do later maybe delete this first attempt. What'd you guys think? (_Yes_, uber-powerful magnate Sasuke is getting repetitive to write, but his job isn't a big part of the plot so much so as what his position provides Karin with-an opportunity to prove herself.)


	2. 2

**note:** Split into thirds now!

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><p><strong>2<strong>

The windows in her office have frosted over from the cold of the air outside, and Karin can't concentrate. She has the interns' plans laid out haphazardly on her desk, along with the blueprints for the company's next project and a list of clients and suppliers. The phone has been moved close to the edge of the table for easy access and her laptop is on and ready to go.

Karin has spent the past fifteen minutes tapping her pen against the table, legs crossed and chin propped up on one hand as she stared out the window, work ignored. There is a brilliant view of the city spread out below the hundred story tall building, shrouded in cold and fog, but Karin is squinting, looking down, down all the impressive floors and marble ledges in hopes of getting a glimpse of Sasuke and..._her_ exiting the building. She is too high up though, and even alone, she refuses to abuse her dignity by pressing her face right up against the glass. Karin wonders where they will go, if _she_ will take him to the swanky bistros and cafes that she always imagined the Uchiha frequented. _Not_ that the woman would be able to afford it, given the state of her clothes. She'd probably make Sasuke pay.

Something mean curls her perfectly painted lips, and Karin finally looks away from the window. There's no helping it, she supposes, but the woman is bound to go away soon—hopefully for another five years—and things will be back to normal.

Earlier had been a lapse, a fluke, because ultimately no one is capable of breaking Uchiha Sasuke's composure.

Smoothing her red hair back from her face, Karin uncrosses her legs and goes back to her work.

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><p>Hours later, she's startled by two soft knocks on her door. She finishes the last letter of her report with a sharp <em>tap<em> of the keyboard and takes the time to resettle her glasses on the bridge of her nose before giving a brusque _come in_.

It's the receptionist (or is she the secretary? Does Sasuke have a secretary? Karin straightens—another woman? No, no competition. He'd never settle for a _secretary_) again, and she gives Karin another soft smile, like they're sharing a secret joke, as a preamble to, "Uciha-sama asked me to give this to you."

She waits until Karin gives her a nod to walk into the room, and in her hand is an invitation. She leaves it on Karin's desk with a shallow bow and slips back out the door, closing it with a soft _snick_ behind her.

Karin looks at the invitation with wrinkled brows; it's printed on heavy cream paper, expensive by the look of it, and lettered with gold. A sheet of stationery peeks out from between the folds and Karin picks that up with pinched fingers first, her eyes widening and a smug smile curving her lips when she recognizes Sasuke's elegant handwriting.

_Everyone is allowed to bring a guest. No obligation to attend._

Everyone? Her smile slips—the importance of the note diminished by lack of specificity—and when she at last picks up the card, it disappears altogether. It's in English, not Japanese, and Karin had paid just enough attention in the course to pass. She'd had more pressing classes to focus on, back then, and it wasn't like she's ever planning on leaving Japan anyways. There's no need to when she has everything she wants right here within reach.

It takes her five minutes to read what's on the cover and the sparse sentence or two inside; it's an invitation to some sort of awards ceremony, that much she can tell, but for who or what it doesn't say.

Well, she thinks grimly, a fancy card calls for a fancy occasion, which would mean fancy dress. Karin takes a sort of fierce joy in dressing herself in beautiful dresses and flashy jewelry—positively _relishes_ stuffing her feet into outrageously expensive heels. Besides the coveting whispers and the looks she gets, it's all metaphoric, a tangible symbol of her firm denouncement of everything she hates about who she used to be.

She'll go, Karin decides. She'll buy a new dress tonight, fresh off of the runway, and relish the compliments she knows she'll receive. She'll go, and she'll be so beautiful that maybe _she'll_ be the one to catch him off-guard this time.

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><p>The ceremony itself takes place in a beautiful ballroom in a renovated museum, and her dress is black and bold and plunging. There are crowds of what appears to be visiting dignitaries, government officials and even the odd celebrity. Karin bristles because the turnout is larger than she'd expected, larger than she'd wanted. In the midst of all these people, flashing dresses and jewels and bright white smiles, she almost feels washed out, is afraid for just a second that she won't be able to find Sasuke or he won't notice her. But then it's gone, and she's furious at herself for even <em>thinking<em> that.

She spots a group of people from the office by one of the balustrades to the staircase leading to the entrance of the museum and casually saunters over, waiting for them to notice her. They're all high ranking executives and Karin can't see anyone present that's more than a rung below her on the corporate ladder, and this appeases her need for exclusivity, if only by just a little.

"Ah! Karin-san!" A tall man she vaguely recognizes gesticulates vigorously, waving her over with a flapping hand. Her nose involuntarily wrinkles before she can conceal her disdain, though luckily they're all still so far away that no one notices. She is sure, however, that everyone in the vicinity had seen his decidedly unsophisticated greeting.

"Hello everyone," she says when she reaches them, savoring the way the eyes of the men rove over exposed skin. Her smile is easy but fake, and her walk: practiced.

"I'm glad you could attend," The senior VP of their department nods at her, appropriately grim.

"So am I," Karin returns, smoothing invisible wrinkles from her dress. The pull of the slinky fabric only draws more attention to her plunging neckline, and the woman watches as all four of her companions look as one towards her cleavage. This time she doesn't bother hiding her disgust; most men she knew are like this, lechers who hid behind their jobs and fancy cars, never different, always a disappointment. Sasuke, she knows, wouldn't have looked. Sasuke's eyes would have stayed on her face. He wouldn't be tempted by anything as cheap as _breasts_. No, for Uchiha Sasuke Karin will have to pull out all stops—she only _wants_ a man that she needs to pull out all stops for—and it would have to be the whole deal; the dress the class the sophistication the _intelligence_ to match his.

Karin clears her throat delicately, drawing their wandering eyes back to her face, "So, anyone know what this lovely event's for?"

"Ah," a coughing pause, "it's supposed to be in honor of all the scientific and humanitarian achievements in Japan for the past decade. Our own little version of the Nobel prizes, if you will. I heard that Uchiha-san was involved in one of the winner's projects."

She smirks; unsurprised that Sasuke can now add this achievement to all the others under his belt. She wonders who his acquaintance could be, but dismisses the thought almost immediately; it is probably some dry old man, and that is none of her concern.

"Should we go in?" One of the men asks. Karins nods, says just the right thing, and laughs politely before making her way up the marble steps, the long slits in the sides of her dress lifting every time she took a step to show an almost indecent amount of flesh. The _almost_, Karin feels, makes all the difference.

The ballroom itself is more beautiful than the rest of the museum, with an intricately frescoed ceiling rising high above their heads. Tables are set up on the dance floor itself and there is a converted stage and podium to announce the winners at the head of the large space. Karin loves how she feels here in the bright lights, rubbing elbows with heads of state and the rich-and-famous. She deserves this, she _belongs_ here, she thinks, but she knows this is only a small taste of what she will get as the wife of Uchiha Sasuke. Sasuke, she thinks, is the culmination of all her efforts—to become a Uchiha would mean officially putting her past to rest, that final bullet-in-the-head that she's never felt she'd satisfactorily fired.

The man though, is proving notoriously difficult to find; he's not present at the table with the rest of the company execs and a quick scan of the guests milling around doesn't turn up anyone with the distinctive spiky hairstyle. Karin pouts, and the man who is pulling out her chair for her politely asks her what's wrong. She shakes her head and sits down in a huff (though she takes great pains to make sure it's an elegant huff).

All the guests have taken their seats, and the appetizers are being served when Sasuke at last decides to show. He appears without warning, wearing a tuxedo in lieu of his usual suit and looking so good that her pulse beats just a little faster under thin skin. Bending, he whispers a few words to the person seated closest to him before leaving again. Karin barely contains a scowl.

"What did Uchiha-san say?" she inquires softly.

The nondescript man turns back to her and offers a sheepish apology—everyone had been looking forward to dinner with their reticent boss.

"He's not going to be eating with us. He's sitting at a private table with some old friends before the presentation starts."

The words _old friends_ adds a chill to her smile and frost to her voice. She's only ever met _one_ of Sasuke's _old friends_ lately and Karin can't imagine the place someone like _that girl_ could have here. She sniffs and goes back to eating overcooked chicken and concentrating on being the absolutely most intelligent, charming person she can be.

The presentation ceremony is long and dull. Ten people have come and gone and there is still no sign of Sasuke or his mysterious friend. There have been several small awards in addition to the big ones in each category (literature, mathematics, some separate sciences, etc), but judging by the way anticipation hums along the room, the biggest have yet to come. Karin stifles a tiny yawn discreetly behind her hand and waits while the lights dim again for yet another award. Though her own table is silent save for the occasional rustling of clothing, the tables surrounding them begin to buzz when the usual fanfare starts for the winner.

Karin's eyes nearly pop out of her head when she sees who it is, because—

Because ascending the stairs to the stage, looking radiant and beautiful and like some _fucking fairy_ is Haruno Sakura. Her hair is pinned up in an elegant chignon, a soft floating dress of red chiffon (a color that Karin could never wear and _should_, she bitterly thinks, clash with that bitch's hair, but doesn't) accentuating a pale expanse of perfect skin across the open back and showcasing long, lean legs. She's wearing flats instead of heels, and her eyes, those green eyes are fucking _glowing_ in the bright spotlights. There's a minimal amount of jewelry and almost no makeup that she can see except for a dash of red lipstick to match, but somehow, try as Karin might to deny it, despite the cacophony of _she'sprobablynothingbutawhore,_ Haruno Sakura manages to exude the confidence and class that she herself have been grasping at straws for her whole life. The simple fact of it makes her _furious_, and Karin's grinding her teeth by the time the woman makes her way to the podium.

It is the biggest award of the night, and apparently it goes to _pinky_ for outstanding services to both science and humanity for devising a one hundred percent effective vaccine for a new strain of an old disease that'd broken out in a previously unaffected region of Africa, where she'd been for the last five years actively chasing outbreaks.

Karin sits back in her chair and _seethes_.

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><p><strong>note: <strong>I just read my note for this chapter from the original upload and all I can say is...what the hell? I obviously wasn't awake when I uploaded this...But yes. Three parts, last coming soon because it's all but written. Thank you for the feedback, and I'm glad you guys liked this!


	3. 3

**note: **Sorry for the lateness!

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><p><strong>3<strong>

Karin is angry. Karin has downed four glasses of champagne. Karin can't hold her drink very well because she despises drinking in general. In remembering this, she is disgusted with herself and gets even angrier.

Karin gets up and decides it's time that she finally _acts_.

Sasuke hasn't returned to their table since, but she can see him at the front of the room, sitting next to the _guest of honor_. Their table is filled with an assortment of people, including a particularly loud blond man that she vaguely recognizes from his frequent comings and goings at the office. At the moment he is gesticulating wildly, laughing uproariously, while the rest of the group watches and talks around him. The only person who isn't making any noise or racket that she can see is Sasuke. He sits on the girl's right while the blond flanks her left, arms and legs crossed. Karin can only make out his profile, but she is smug in the inebriated certainty that he does not belong there.

They may have been his friends once upon a time, but no more. Sasuke obviously wishes that he is sitting back here with the rest of the quiet, _dignified_ company, but chooses not to for pity's sake. Karin sniffs, and takes another sip of champagne before she can stop herself.

She spends too much time watching Sasuke and too little entertaining the attention of the people around her, and when she finally tries to bother, it's too late; the conversation has drifted on without her. Karin doesn't mind though, her image isn't overtly hurt if she is seen being curt or unsociable tonight, her dress and the jeweled pendant dangling between her breasts keeps the questions at bay. She swirls the drink in her wine glass as if she has a secret, and she knows everyone will view her as mysterious and unattainable (which is the truth, because she is too good now for any of these men but _him _anyways).

The blond man finally settles down and Karin spends the next fifteen minutes quietly memorizing the way Sasuke's tuxedo neatly stretches over his shoulders, and the way his hair brushes his nape. He is a beautiful man of planes and angles, and when Karin imagines the picture the two of them will make, she doesn't bother concealing the satisfied tilt of her lips.

To her dismay, when the Haruno woman stands up, Sasuke does too, and the pair soon disappears into the crowd. There is the abrupt noise of her chair scraping the floor, startling everyone in her immediate vicinity, and Karin is surprised to find that she is also standing up. Her head spins with the movement, and she blinks a few times to steady herself. Ignoring the curious stares she is getting, Karin nearly lurches out onto the dance floor before righting herself, eyes already searching the crowds for that tell-tale flash of pink. She finally finds them standing by a table, the girl leaning down to talk to a busty blonde and Sasuke decidedly ignoring what seems to be very adamant offers from an older man with a shock of white hair and a wart on his nose.

Karin watches them surreptitiously from behind a pillar on the side of the floor. With a start she realizes she's still holding the wine glass from before. She drinks from the half full glass slowly as she follows the two's circuit around the room—apparently pinky had something to say to _everyone_ because they stop at almost every other table, where the woman is either greeted with a hug or an enthusiastic handshake. Karin can see the entire ballroom from her vantage point, but then she looks away for an instant, just an _instant_ and somehow they have slipped from view. She snarls, dumping her now empty glass onto a surprised waiter's tray and pushes her way into the crowd.

After the awards ceremony, the rest of the party largely abandons their little round tables to mill on the cluttered dance floor or in the gardens outside. Large, floor to ceiling French doors open out onto a long terrace and topiaries bared because of winter cold, though the large silk tent rented especially for the occasion assures that the temperature never becomes anything less than mildly chilly. She finally spots a wisp of obnoxious red chiffon as someone—and she has a pretty good idea who—leaves through said doors.

The redhead nearly shoves someone to the ground in her haste to catch up, halting when she realizes that yes, it's Sasuke and _her_ and that yes, the terrace is completely empty except for the two of them. Karin savagely bites her lips, perfectly manicured nails leaving little crescent moons of frustration in her palms, and in the end decides to tuck herself in a corner next to the door closest to the pair (she refuses to call them a _couple_, even in her head, even in the most technical of terms). She flags down a waiter with a full tray this time and treats herself to another glass of champagne. She can't really remember why she thought drinking was such a bad idea in the first place. Certainly the situation—keeping one's prospects, one's _future_ safe is a call to arms for liquid courage.

Karin leans against the wall and strains her ears. She is rewarded with the faint remnants of a conversation.

"I'm glad you could come."

"…I wouldn't have missed it."

A pause, and then the girl; "I know how busy you are, if you did I would have understood. You did your bit when you believed in this project, Sasuke-kun. None of it would have been possible without your company backing us."

There is a heavy sigh, loud even over the music wafting from the ballroom. It comes from Sasuke and it makes Karin purse her lips—it is the most tired, the most vulnerable and human she has ever heard him being. Karin doesn't like it.

"Anyone with half a whit of business sense would've seen what a success it'd be."

Another short pause before Sasuke speaks again, "And besides, it's good for public relations."

There is the sound of brief laughter, "Did the great Uchiha Sasuke just try to make a _joke_?"

Sasuke doesn't say anything, or if he does, Karin doesn't hear. There is silence for a few minutes, long enough that she lets herself edge closer to the open door. A passing man looks at her strangely, but she only sneers and presses her head harder against the wall. The back of her skull pounds both from the pressure and the alcohol.

"It's good to be back in any case. I was worried that I wouldn't get to see you guys before I leave again."

The smile that blooms on Karin's face is instantaneous and inevitable; _and_, she adds in her head, _you'd better _stay _away this time. _In fact, she is so giddy with triumph that she nearly misses what Sasuke says next; "You're leaving again."

There must have been a nod of assent because then he is asking, "For how long this time?"

Karin can barely hear her reply, Haruno is talking so low. "I'm heading out to South America, now that we know the vaccine's a success…"

"How long."

"Another five years."

She can't help it, their voices are growing fainter and she wants to see Sasuke's expression—to be reassured by the coldness and control that she is so used to and sure of.

Sasuke utters a hard _no_, and then Karin is rounding that corner and she's not, she _is not_ prepared for what greets her on the other side.

The dark haired Uchiha's head is bowed, one hand gripping Haruno Sakura's wrist, hard. She is turned towards Karin, frozen in the act of leaving. She doesn't seem to notice the redhead wilting by the wall; instead her entire face is given over to something quiet and heavy.

"Sasuke, I _need_ to be out there. You—since when has it mattered to you?"

And to Karin's surprise, to her _astonishment_ there is no quick reprisal, no brusque brush off, instead Sasuke lifts his head and there is something _fierce_ in his eyes.

"Five years, Sakura. I gave you _five years_ to run. Not. Again."

Karin watches as Sakura tries to tug her hand free while Sasuke holds fast. Every ineffectual movement betrays how much he cares, and Karin, Karin feels like something in her own chest is being pulled and beaten at the same time.

She is standing here out in the open, dress black and daring, jewels glowing in the dim light of the lanterns, but still they don't see her at all. Haruno Sakura stares straight ahead, but her green eyes are shut and her face, the pain on her face is nearly palpable to Karin's own. She can't make out the entirety of Sasuke's experession, only his eyes are lit bright by the flickering lights—his mouth remains shaded in shadow. It is still the most expressive she has ever seen him though, the hard slash of eyebrows over dilated dark pupils more telling than a thousand words.

He pulls, and Haruno Sakura falls back into him.

Behind her, the orchestra crescendos and nearly swallows Sakura's soft gasp. She thinks that it is good that the music is so loud now, hands clutching the edges of her dress with shaking fingers, because Sasuke is suddenly _yelling_, or nearly yelling shouting sounds syllables words coming out of his mouth in a jumbled mess, lacking coherency or articulation and the only thing she can really discern is the bleeding raw _emotion_—

The words themselves are lost in the music, but Karin is still watching, standing there dumbfounded as everything falls into place with a sickening lurch in her head because both of Sasuke's arms are wrapped around the girl and his lips are pressing into the crown of her hair, his mouth now shaping words soft and rapid like prayers. Haruno Sakura visibly shakes, but arches into his touch all the same.

There is no composure, no icy reticence or passivity here, instead it's everything that Karin thought Uchiha Sasuke could never be—and Karin realizes, she realizes that she's never seen any of his passion because all of it has been spent on this one girl, tucked away in some godforsaken corner of the world for lord knows how many long years.

Then, Sasuke's eyes finally meet hers from over the girl's shoulder and her own widen in embarrassment, or maybe surprise at being caught. But he doesn't let go of his grip and merely moves to tuck his head in the crook of Sakura's neck; the Uchiha's message can't get any clearer—he doesn't give a flying fuck who sees.

That's what it finally takes for Karin to unfreeze, to unstick her legs from the ground and, stumbling, back her way out of the terrace and into the warm rush of the ballroom. She turns in a rush to shut the image of the couple (no point denying it now) from her head and heart but they're still emblazoned on the back of her lids when she closes her eyes, entwined in the in the soft light, her with her petal pink hair and red chiffon dress, him with his stark lines and dark suit.

Straight out of some fucking _fairy tale_.

Karin makes it back to her table blind, and jerks when someone taps lightly on her shoulder. She turns to see the very surprised VP staring back at her.

"Are you ok, Karin-san?"

It is a trite question, one that people ask all the time, but she gives it the full weight of her thoughts for a moment, and in the end she decides—

"I will be."

* * *

><p>Karin isn't surprised when Uchiha-san doesn't show up for work the next day, or the next or the next and…<p>

She's bitter, at first, because they—him and her—were supposed to be her crowning triumph, the last blow to secure her place on the metaphorical throne, but that'll fade with time. In the end, she thinks she deserves better anyways than to be defined by a man. If she'd married Uchiha Sasuke and carried out the lukewarm (because even frigid is more exciting) consummation of her faithless dreams, she would have always just been Uchiha Sasuke-san's wife, never Karin. _A trophy_, she acknowledges with disgust.

They _both_ deserve better, Karin thinks in a rare moment of generosity. And if that pink haired thing was it for him, then so be it. She herself won't settle for anything but the world.

Karin slides her glasses on with a meticulously manicured finger and finishes writing her resignation letter.

* * *

><p>She finds out when Sasuke finally comes back to the office two weeks later. The young CEO isn't exactly <em>glowing <em>but. According to the receptionist—Mayu, she corrects herself—according to _Mayu_ there's just something _different_ about him. Karin thinks that it might have something to do with Dr. Haruno Sakura announcing her indefinite return to Japan's labs, but she says nothing, steering Mayu towards another topic.

There is a long silence, and when the blond prompts her again over the phone, Karin clears her throat primly and pretends not to hear.

They hang up five minutes later, as Karin clicks _confirm_ for her plane ticket to the States.

Karin wants the world, and it is definitely bigger than Japan.

**fin**

* * *

><p><strong>an: **Sorry if this took longer than you thought it would, it really _was_ nearly finished when I put up part 2, I just got stalled on the ending. I know a lot of you wanted some kind of ending involving Suigetsu and Karin falling for him, etc, but I kind of really had my head stuck on this one from the beginning. Maybe next time? I really hope I got Karin right; it's kind of a clumsy first attempt, but practice makes perfect, yeah? ovo

Thanks for any and all feedback!


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